More thoughts on shutdown, health care law

Pisgah Inn, a privately owned operation which receives no government funding, forced to close. The golf course on Andrews Air Force base where the President has played 35 rounds so far this year, open for business. Amberalert.gov, the nation's lifeline to help find stolen children, was closed. Letsmove.gov, Michelle Obama's pet project, open for business. These are but a few of the many examples of a petulant and temper-tantrum-throwing administration run amok. And who do the progressives, liberals and Democrats blame for a continued shutdown? They blame the same GOP and tea party-endorsed members that the president was quoted in yesterday's paper as saying that he "insists he will not negotiate with." I ask you, who is the obstructionist? And who was recently put in charge of your health care? The next government shutdown will be much more painful and vindictive.Jeffery Douglas Edwards, Biltmore Lake###We need a government that works. The Republicans, among them Mark Meadows, have taken the government and us as taxpayers hostage. We need the representatives to do what they were elected to do - govern. They receive a large salary from us. If they don't plan to work, I want my money back. I need a lot of help to rescue those less fortunate. Doris Henry, Asheville###The terrifying possibility is that President Obama does not know what he is doing. The really terrifying possibility is that he knows exactly what he is doing and that happenings in our country are going according to his plan. In my opinion, he will go down in history as the president who was "The Great Divider" of the American people. He is pitting class against class, race against race, age against age. We The People should take note. This is not the American way.Audrey Bayer, Asheville###We do not support Mark Meadows' ill advised efforts to defund the Affordable Care Act or to shut down the federal government.F.R. Jayne, Leicester###It was 8:45 a.m. and I called our U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan. Offices in North Carolina and Washington were closed. Mailboxes were filled. Regardless of the party, that's a pretty good indication of what a U.S. senator thinks of her constituents. If they can't talk to each other, why should they talk to us?George Trowbridge, Asheville###Re: "Supporters rally for Meadows,'' Oct. 7 AC-T: One interesting observation with regards to your article in the AC-T: all the supporters in the photograph appear to be white retirees. They are all probably retired on pensions and enjoying the "evils" of Medicare, a "socialist" government program providing medical services at a reduced rate. I can understand their objections to the Affordable Care Act, another one of those "socialist" programs.Ted Zoller, Weaverville###Looking at the picture of Meadows supporters in the AC-T, I wondered just how many of them were not on Medicare or receiving Social Security. The absolute unmitigated hypocrisy of Meadows, the tea potters and their ilk is appalling. Perhaps they should organize some more machine gun socials to raise money for all those affected by this shutdown.L.C. Roberts, Marshall###Re: "Rally for Meadows," most of the people pictured appear to be seniors and are identified in the article as tea party members. Can I then assume that each of them has refused to sign up for Medicare since it is a government program? Or, are they on Medicare and are too selfish to want younger Americans to have health coverage? Or, are they so insensitive that they don't care if their own kids and grandkids don't have health coverage? Or, do they not realize that the ACA will create many new health care jobs that will help pay to keep Medicare going? It might be enlightening to have Rep. Meadows provide the AC-T a list of his constituents who he does not want the ACA to cover. Who are they? Farmers? Barbers? Teachers' aides? Carpenters? Children?Charles Mahan, Waynesville###The tea party is accomplishing what al-Qaida could not do. The goal of the 9/11 attack was to bring down our economy and our government. Is Congressman Meadows proud of that?John Laughlin, Asheville###It has become abundantly clear that the Republicans have no escape plan from shutting down the government. They have no substitute plan for Obamacare but to destroy it. They ran on jobs but never had a jobs plan and killed every jobs plan President Obama proposed. Does anyone see a pattern here? They never, ever have a plan except to destroy whatever the Democrats propose. The Republican Party should be renamed the "black hole party," where nothing is created, only destroyed. It's obvious that a rather significant part of society, wealthy white guys mostly and their concubines as well as sociopaths, want only to destroy what others are trying to improve on and create. Strange how they envision the only good America as a 50 years ago America. Too bad populations and the realities of the KKK era and discrimination against people of color and women are still part of their agenda. Sorta creepy if you ask me. Why can't these people face the reality of what they really are? Why?George Clark, Asheville###The machinations of the Asheville Tea Party are disturbingly entertaining to behold. They created Mark Meadows. They carefully vetted him then threw their considerable energy and resources into his election. In return, Meadows has been dubbed by CNN as the "architect of the shutdown," which has led to the early closure of non-essential government services including one of the region's main economic engines, the national parks and forests. The roads are not closed but all the amenities, including the Pisgah Inn, are shuttered. Jane Bilello, chair of the ATP, seemed surprised by this. "We don't want this business shut down?. This is political grandstanding?," as if holding the federal budget hostage to denying health insurance for millions of Americans were not the worst form of political extortion. There is a certain irony when strident ideology comes full circle, as this did. Elect an ideologue, deny health coverage to millions, shut down the government, lose the Pisgah Inn a month early. The unintended consequences of extremist policies usually rise up to bite the immoderate.Lee McMinn, Brevard###Congressman Mark Meadows claims the CNN reporter who wrote the Sept. 27 article entitled "architect of the brink" was "sensationalizing" his role in the government shutdown, but the article clearly identified Meadows as a tea party "poster boy" and a "conduit" for their agenda; for example, it states Meadows hosts regular conference calls with the Asheville Tea Party "to explain what's happening in Congress, including the challenges he faces promoting their agenda." In August, Meadows used his pseudo town hall meetings to boast about the letter he wrote to the House leadership "encouraging them to defund Obamacare through the appropriations process" and he gleefully proclaimed that he had persuaded 79 of his colleagues to co-sign it. The letter is prominently displayed on his website: www.meadows.house.gov. I contend it is Meadows who is "sensationalizing" by claiming he's "doing what the majority of his constituents want." Redistricting made NC-11 the reddest district in the state, but I believe most Republican constituents share U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's sentiment that risking a government shutdown to defund Obamacare is the "dumbest idea" ever. Contact Meadows to express your concern about his "poster boy" status and tell him to start working for some real solutions to the gridlock.Myrna Campbell, Waynesville###Mr. Meadows, The American taxpayers are paying your salary to run the government, not to shut it down. Do your job or resign.Jane Kniffin, Weaverville

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More thoughts on shutdown, health care law

Pisgah Inn, a privately owned operation which receives no government funding, forced to close. The golf course on Andrews Air Force base where the President has played 35 rounds so far this year,